Epic Recs Review: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Feature created by Amber and Judith, Graphic created by Judith

So Lisa and I picked books for each other at the beginning of this month and, now, at the end of this month, we present you with our thoughts on the books we Epically Rec'd to each other. To check out Lisa's thoughts on my pick for her (Also Known As by Robin Benway), click HERE.

Title: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour
Author: Morgan Matson
Release Date: May 4th, 2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR
Page Count: 352
Source: Purchased
First Reaction: I've never wanted to go on a road trip and eat lots of burgers more in life.

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn't seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she's coming to terms with her father's death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road - diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards - this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

Review: From What I Remember by Stacy Kramer & Valerie Thomas

Title: From What I Remember
Author: Stacy Kramer & Valerie Thomas
Release Date: May 15th, 2012
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Page Count: 462
Source: Purchased
First Reaction: An absurd trip to Mexico that had way more heart than I thought it would.

KYLIE: Mexico? What a nightmare! I should be putting the finishing touches on my valedictorian speech. Graduation is TODAY! Wait! Is this a wedding band on my finger??

MAX: It started with Kylie's laptop and a truck full of stolen electronics and it ended in Ensenada. It was hot, the way she broke us out like some chick in an action movie. But now we're stranded here, with less than twenty-four hours before graduation.

WILL: Saving Kylie Flores from herself is kind of a full-time occupation. Luckily, I, Will Bixby, was born for the job. And when I found out she was stuck in Mexico with dreamy Max Langston, sure, I agreed to bring their passports across the border but there's no reason to rush back home right away. This party is just getting started.

LILY: This cannot be happening. It's like some cruel joke. Or a bad dream. I close my eyes and when I reopen them, they're still there. Max and Kylie Flores, freak of the century. In bed together. If Kylie thinks I'm giving him up without a fight, she's dead wrong.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

YA Me (Probably the First in a Series)

Fact: I don't like coffee. I just like saying Coffee Clutch in my best and deepest New York accent. Considering I'm a New Yorker, I'm pretty freaking good at it. So I've got my tea and I hope you have your heated beverage of choice, because it's time to gab the day away.

A couple of weeks ago, my mom knocked on my door and said, "There's going to be a clothing drive this weekend." To which I said: "Exxxxxcellent" and proceeded to fill four garbage bags with clothing and shoes I no longer wear so I can go shopping for "adult clothing" with Estelle and have somewhere to put the new stuff. (Because, let's be real, I'm never not going to have too much clothing.)

Anyway, as I purged, I stumbled upon my prom dress (which I posted to Twitter because, well, why not?).

Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door (Anna and the French Kiss #2)
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Release Date: September 28th, 2011
Publisher: Speak
Page Count: 368
Source: Purchased
First Reaction: I love and hate this book all at once I don't even know how that's possible.

Lola Nolan is a budding costume designer, and for her, the more outrageous, sparkly, and fun the outfit, the better. And everything is pretty perfect in her life (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood. When Cricket, a gifted inventor, steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

THE RIVERMAN Blog Tour: Interview with Aaron Starmer

So it's Middle Grade time here on the blog. Are you guys ready for an Aaron Starmer interview? I know I am!

Review: Tin Star by Cecil Castellucci

Title: Tin Star (Tin Star #1)
Author: Cecil Castellucci
Release Date: February 25th, 2014
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Page Count: 240
Source: ARC from publisher
(I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest
review. No favors were exchanged, my opinions are my own.)
First Reaction: Eh... I'm just gonna stop here (i.e. 100 pages in).

On their way to start a new life, Tula and her family travel on the Prairie Rose, a colony ship headed to a planet in the outer reaches of the galaxy. All is going well until the ship makes a stop at a remote space station, the Yertina Feray, and the colonist's leader, Brother Blue, beats Tula within an inch of her life. An alien, Heckleck, saves her and teaches her the ways of life on the space station.

When three humans crash land onto the station, Tula's desire for escape becomes irresistible, and her desire for companionship becomes unavoidable. But just as Tula begins to concoct a plan to get off the space station and kill Brother Blue, everything goes awry, and suddenly romance is the farthest thing from her mind. 

[Summary Source: Goodreads]

Review: Teen Spirit by Francesca Lia Block

Title: Teen Spirit
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Release Date: February 4th, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Page Count: 234 
Source: ARC from ALA
(I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest
review. No favors were exchanged, my opinions are my own.)
First Reaction: Oh well.

After Julie's grandmother passes away, she is forced to move across town to the not-so-fancy end of Beverly Hills and start over at a new school. The only silver lining to the perpetual dark cloud that seems to be following her? Clark—a die-hard fan of Buffy and all things Joss Whedon, who is just as awkward and damaged as she is. Her kindred spirit.

When the two try to contact Julie's grandmother with a Ouija board, they make contact with a different spirit altogether. The real kind. And this ghost will do whatever it takes to come back to the world of the living.

Francesca Lia Block's latest young adult novel is a haunting work about family, loss, love, and redemption.

[Summary Source: Goodreads]